Top 10 Georgia High School Football Teams in Class 1A
Updated 10/11/2026
Here are ITG Next’s updated 2026 Georgia high school football Class 1A rankings.
In one of Mitchell County’s biggest wins in program history, the Eagles from Camilla, Georgia, traveled to Homerville, Georgia, and upset the Clinch County Panthers 12-10 on Thursday. It was Mitchell County’s first win over Clinch County since 1955. Clinch County had won eight straight meetings against Mitchell County before this year’s upset.
Mitchell County head coach Kaream Hess’ team jumps to No. 5 in the poll.
One week after defeating Taylor County 21-20 in a battle of unbeaten programs, the Macon County Bulldogs looked to remain undefeated against 5-1 Schley County. The Bulldogs were not as fortunate this time, suffering their first loss of the season 26-20 in overtime.
With Macon County and Clinch County losing, Randolph-Clay moves up to No. 3 after keeping its unbeaten season alive with a 22-19 victory over Seminole County.
Treutlen lost to Wheeler County 28-16 and falls out of the top 10.
With a 6-1 record, Trion makes its debut in the Class 1A poll.
- Johnson County
- Lincoln County
- Randolph-Clay (+2)
- Macon County (-1)
- Mitchell County (+3)
- Washington-Wilkes
- Taylor County
- Clinch County (-4)
- Charlton County
- Trion (NR)
Out: Treutlen
Updated 10/4/2026
ITG Next’s 2026 Georgia high school football Class 1A rankings see some big changes as Montgomery County tumbles out of the top 10 following a stunning 27-0 loss to unranked Warren County.
Moving in to fill the vacancy is Treutlen, which makes its 2026 debut in the top 10.
In a battle of unbeaten teams, Macon County edged Taylor County by one point 21-20.
However, the loss doesn’t cost Taylor County in the poll this week, as Montgomery County’s loss allows Treutlen to debut at No. 10 while Charlton County, Taylor County, and Mitchell County each move up one spot.
- Johnson County
- Lincoln County
- Macon County
- Clinch County
- Randolph-Clay
- Washington-Wilkes (+1)
- Taylor County (+1)
- Mitchell County (+1)
- Charlton County (+1)
- Treutlen (NR)
Out: Montgomery County
Updated 9/27/2026
ITG Next’s 2026 Georgia high school football Class 1A rankings has a new No. 1 team, with Johnson County leapfrogging Lincoln County and Macon County, both of which were off last week.
The Johnson County Trojans from Wrightsville won their fifth straight game to start the season, defeating Glascock County 61-22.
Elsewhere, the rest of the Class 1A top 10 remains the same as last week.
- Johnson County (+2)
- Lincoln County (-1)
- Macon County (-1)
- Clinch County
- Randolph-Clay
- Montgomery County
- Washington-Wilkes
- Taylor County
- Mitchell County
- Charlton County
Updated 9/20/2026
Here are Lincoln County lost to South Carolina powerhouse Strom Thurmond 33-20, dropping the Red Devils to 3-2 on the season. However, that’s not enough to unseat them from atop ITG Next’s 2026 Georgia high school football Class 1A rankings.
Montgomery County falls one place after losing to Treutlen 21-7, which allows Randolph-Clay to move into the top five.
- Lincoln County
- Macon County
- Johnson County
- Clinch County
- Randolph-Clay (+1)
- Montgomery County (-1)
- Washington-Wilkes
- Taylor County
- Mitchell County
- Charlton County
Updated 9/13/2026
Here are ITG Next’s updated 2026 Georgia high school football Class 1A rankings.
Top-ranked Lincoln County improved to 3-1 on the season after defeating a 2-1 Harlem team 35-21 last week.
ECI and Bowdon each lost a second straight game and fall out of the top 10. Both lost to Class 2A teams, with ECI losing to Bleckley County 42-7 and defending state champion Bowdon falling to Heard County 46-6.
Mitchell County bounced back from the previous week’s loss to Randolph-Clay with a 42-31 win over Miller County.
Randolph-Clay improved to 4-0 with a 62-30 pounding of Calhoun County and breaks into the top 10 at No. 6.
Charlton County also enters the poll after a 43-0 shoutout of Frederica Academy.
- Lincoln County
- Macon County
- Johnson County
- Clinch County (+1)
- Montgomery County (+1)
- Randolph-Clay (NR)
- Washington-Wilkes
- Taylor County
- Mitchell County (+1)
- Charlton County (NR)
Out: Bowdon, ECI
Updated 9/6/2026
Top-ranked Lincoln County defeated Aquinas and remains the No.1 team in ITG Next’s 2026 Georgia high school football Class 1A rankings.
Four other ranked teams lost last week, including Bowdon, Mitchell County, Early County, and ECI.
Macon County and Johnson County had a bye week.
Clinch County and head coach Rance Morgan were impressive in picking up their first win of the season.
Taylor County enters the rankings this week at No. 8.
Washington-Wilkes moves up three places in the poll after a 56-7 win over Oglethorpe.
- Lincoln County
- Macon County
- Johnson County
- Bowdon
- Clinch County
- Montgomery County
- Washington-Wilkes (+3)
- Taylor County (NR)
- ECI
- Mitchell County (-3)
Out: Early County
Updated 8/30/2026
Incredibly, seven of the teams in ITG Next’s 2026 Georgia high school football rankings for Class 1A lost last week, including the top three in No. 1 Lincoln County, No. 2 Clinch County, and No. 3 Early County. Lincoln County lost to Westside-Augusta, Clinch County lost to Jeff Davis, and Early County was upset by Berrien.
The other ranked teams that lost were ECI, Washington-Wilkes, Schley County, and Irwin County.
Despite the high-scoring defeat, Lincoln County remains the top team this week.
Macon County jumps two spots to No. 2, and previously unranked Montgomery County and Mitchell County enter the top 10.
- Lincoln County
- Macon County (+2)
- Johnson County (+2)
- Bowdon (+5)
- Clinch County (-3)
- Montgomery County (NR)
- Mitchell County (NR)
- Early County (-5)
- ECI (-3)
- Washington-Wilkes (-3)
Out: Schley County, Irwin County
Updated 8/23/2026
The Lincoln County Red Devils are the new No. 1 team in ITG Next’s 2026 Georgia high school football rankings for Class 1A after they defeated Class 6A’s Grovetown 14-7.
Clinch County lost a hard-fought game to Fitzgerald and falls to No. 2.
Four-time state champion Bowdon falls six places to No. 9 after losing to Bremen 38-19.
Irwin County, after a disastrous 2025 season that saw the Indians never ranked for the first time in a long time, makes its way back into the rankings after a 35-11 win over Wilcox County in Week 1.
- Lincoln County (+1)
- Clinch County (-1)
- Early County (+1)
- Macon County (+1)
- Johnson County (+1)
- ECI (+1)
- Washington-Wilkes (+1)
- Schley County (+2)
- Bowdon (-6)
- Irwin County (NR)
Out: Seminole County
Preseason – Updated 6/22/2026
Here are ITG Next’s 2026 Georgia high school football preseason rankings for Class 1A.
Class 1A will look much different in 2026 as the GHSA has eliminated the Division I and Division II split and will now have just a single Class 1A.
The Class 1A-Division I teams from last year will move up to Class 2A (or higher) this season, while the majority of the Class 1A-Division II teams will remain in Class 1A.
Defending Class 1A-Division I state champion Worth County will move to Class 3A, while Class 1A-Division II champ Bowdon will stay in Class 1A this year.
Bowdon won its fourth consecutive state title last year, but winning a fifth could be a tall order this year for the Red Devils.
Rich Fendley left his position as head coach to take the same post at Rockmart. Arguably the state’s top all-around player, Kaiden Prothro is off to UGA, leaving a major void in the Bowdon program. He is one of 17 seniors not returning, along with starting quarterback Joshua Hopkins. But don’t count the Red Devils out. They’ll still make another run at it.
The team Bowdon defeated in the title game, Lincoln County, will likely be right back in the mix with a dependable running game that uses lots of fresh backs. Leading rusher Kelby Glaze has graduated, but Jonathan Norman and Aiden Jones lead a group of returning underclassmen who will take the reins this season.
Early County graduated its leading rusher from last season in Devonis Lee and quarterback Evan Grist, but watch for some rising playmakers coming back to pick up the slack for the Bobcats this season. Athlete Kayden Kendrix is a player to watch this year. The junior is a speedster who can hurt defenses in multiple ways. Another name you’ll be hearing this year is senior Kobe Lingo. Watch for him to pair up with returning head-hunter Chandler Means on defense.
ECI loses top rusher Tyler Foreman and quarterback Jackson Kennedy but will have offensive weapons Chase Johnson, Davis Johnson and AB Marsh back in 2026.
Washington-Wilkes will be a team to keep an eye on this year, as the Tigers return most of their weapons on offense, including quarterback Mayson Mingle, along with top defenders in juniors Ayden Young and Calvin Wynn Jr. As a freshman, Mingle threw for 1,740 yards and 12 touchdowns while rushing for almost 600 yards with 10 touchdowns.
Johnson County will be looking to build off last year’s 11-win season as the Trojans return leading rusher and scorer junior Jeremiah Scott. Leading defender Jeremiah Taylor is also back. Taylor rushed for 300 yards with six touchdowns last year.
Macon County will be returning most of its starting roster from a year ago, which could make the Bulldogs from Montezuma a program to watch in 2026. Top rusher Jakeyveon Parker is back, along with top receiver Ja’Marion Stewart. The two accounted for 30 touchdowns last year.
The Bulldogs will return most of their defense, including the entire defensive backfield from last year’s 5-win team.
Seminole County enjoyed an 8-2 season last year, and with senior quarterback Ellis Denham returning to run the offense, the Indians are hoping to make a deep run in Class 1A this year. Denham passed for 1,401 yards with 17 touchdowns and just one interception all season, completing 70% of his passes. The Indians will miss all-around playmaker Kamauri Johnson and linebacker Zakari Henderson on defense.
Schley County will be looking to build momentum off last year’s 7-5 season as the Wildcats return leading rusher Jeremiah Johnson and top defender Jayden Figueroa.
- Clinch County
- Lincoln County
- Bowdon
- Early County
- Macon County
- Johnson County
- ECI
- Washington-Wilkes
- Seminole County
- Schley County
